Heroes
by Delacouria
Summary: Raised to be the ultimate weapon, young Naruto must hide among the shadows to fulfill his duty to Konoha. For his past holds bitter secrets, one which he vowed to understand and one act of vengeance against the man who betrayed him as a boy. "What if i told you that I'm not the hero you thought I was...?"


**Ho, ho, ho, Hey guys!**

**I'm starting my first Fanfiction and I hope you all enjoy!**

**Now, I must get this out of the way. Naruto will be strong, very strong; you'll come to find out why he'll be strong in the fic. **

**I don't have a pairing at the moment, and no, I'm not doing a harem. To me, Harems take the fun out of relationships, so no, I'm not doing it. Suggestions will be taken into consideration.**

**Minato and Kushina are alive and Naruto has a sister… well…. Maybe.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. That's a given.**

* * *

_Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival._

The hard, stone flooring was like needles to his feet. The long, unilluminated, stone walling never ended.

He'd been down here many times before, often checking up on the upcoming warrior's progress. It wasn't an easy decision to make, but Konoha needed this, _his_ family needed this.

The walls were damp in water vapour; the torches that hung from the walls like lamps barely gave off any light. It was a surprise he knew where he was going, but it was unlikely that he'd forget this path.

The man arrived at a steel door that had rusted slightly at the edges. The handle, old and worn looking was staring him in the face. This door had haunted his dreams, terrified him out of his skin. It didn't matter that he knew what was in there; it was the limitless potential that it held that scared him.

His blonde, spiky hair stood out along the nearest torch. His bright white coat with red flames at the bottom emerged from the dreary darkness.

He was the Yondaime Hokage, The Yellow Flash of the Leaf. Minato Namikaze. A man that was said to have no fears, the strongest Shinobi to live since the Sage of Six Paths stood, hands trembling as he gripped the worn door handle.

With a heavy sigh and a slight muttering of his breath, he pushed the heavy, steel door open. The hinges screaming, the door scraping on the brick flooring.

As soon as the door was opened, lights blew to life. The torches illuminating the walls as they went down the long room. Projects sat on dark, brown tables, some finished, other not. Giant glass cylinders stood tall, nothing in them, just there for when the time arises.

At the very end of the room stood a tall, crystallised glass cylinder with its rims frozen over. A man stood, old and worn, wearing nothing but a white robe with a red under-dressing. His grey hair matted down his shoulders and stopping at his back.

Minato strode, his legs buckling in anticipation and worry. He'd invited the Sandaime to be the first and last person to see this, what he was doing for the village.

He arrived next to the Sandaime in a few strides, but neither spoke. The tension was Palpable, you didn't become the Hokage by being an idiot, and it seemed that Hiruzen knew what was in there despite the frozen view.

"I don't condone what you have done; Minato, but I won't change your mind. I swore, as your predecessor to trust your judgement as Hokage." Hiruzen bit out. It was unnatural what Minato was doing, building… making a soldier made for war. A weapon of unequalled power to ensure Konoha's survival should events arises. Minato was playing a risky game betting against God in such a way.

The man in question didn't reply at first, he just started evenly at the tube. No matter what anyone thought, this was for the best, and he knew it. They needed this, Konoha needed this, and he needed this.

"I know, Hiruzen, I know. I just want to ensure the survival of Konoha, of its people… of my family." Minato said evenly. His family meant so much to him. His wife, Kushina was his first and only love. His daughter, Natsumi was his precious. She was a world and he revolved around her.

The aged man shook his head slightly. Hokage's weren't supposed to let family cloud their judgement. Their decisions, however cruel and heartless they seemed, needed to be in the best interests for the village. He kept his tongue; nothing would change Minato after tonight.

Glancing at his predecessor slightly, Minato levelled himself and calmly walked over to the flashing control panel. The motherboard, it responded to his Chakra only and was the only thing that ran the cryogenic tube.

With one final sigh, Minato pushed his hand onto the screen. His chakra seeping through the Tenketsus in his hand until a soft click was heard. A low rumble soon followed as the top of the frozen glass tube was lifted off. Nothing could prepare Minato and Hiruzen for the cold blast of air that departed from its confines.

The ice that surrounded the glass melted instantly. It dribbled onto the floor creating a cold puddle around the base of the glass.

Both men gazed into the tube, a child, no older than 3 suspended off the ground. He had various wires coming from his body that connected to the base his prison. His sun kissed blonde hair pointed in all directions, the tips of said spikes were tinted a blood red. His lips sat in a firm line, as if he was aware of his surrounds from the time of his "birth".

His eyes opened revealing a dark amethyst colour that reverted to sky blue after a few seconds. His head turned slightly as if judging the room, something that shouldn't have been possible for a 3 year old. His chubby fingers grabbed the wires that were connected to the bottom of his neck, and then the wires that were connected into his wrists were next. His small, fat baby feet touched the floor for the first time since he could remember.

The child steadily walked out of his container as soon as the glass was lifted for him to see where he was. If, by the slight shake of his head was any indication, the child didn't like what he saw.

* * *

I opened my eyes for the first time. I could finally see through the frozen over glass.

I was disappointed.

There in front of me stood two men, one aged and the other in his prime. One with old, dying grey hair and the other vibrant yellow.

I gauged my surroundings promptly. The walls were dreary and damp with to no source of light, the floor was cold and uneven on my feet. This definitely wasn't a nice place to be born, definitely not.

I shake my head slightly and allow a smirk to play on my face. Judging by their reactions, they didn't know that I knew of all the experiments run on me since I was put in that container. No, they didn't know.

The old man was gaping like a fish, probably due to me being able to walk proficiently, the other man, however, wore a proud smile, almost like he was my Father, but I knew the truth.

"How are you?" The vibrant man asked, his hands shaking in… fear or excitement.

I didn't respond at first, gauging them both was my first task. Sensing them was easy; it was scaling them that were hard. I am new to this world; they both had big blue balls inside their sternum, the yellow haired man more so.

"I," my voice was squeaky, probably because I was three, "I feel fine. Great even."

Again, the old man gaped like a fish; apparently, three year olds can't make coherent sentences. I'd heard enough of them when that man in the cloak would talk around my prison. It was quite a bonus to have an eidetic memory.

"You know why I have released you now, right?" he asked.

I nodded my head, the man was always muttering about this being for the greater good of Konoha, for his family and the people of his village, so I knew instantly that I was a weapon, a monster to deter people from attacking.

The old man's eyes changed instantly at my nod, the bewilderment they showed changed to pure rage directed at the man speaking to me. He turned in a heartbeat that would make you second guess his age, but to me, he was Slow.

So. Damn. Slow.

* * *

"Minato! Have you gone insane? What _did you do_ to this child?!" Hiruzen all but screamed. The child that was the centre of attention grabbed his ears and cringed slightly, it seemed that the experiments had worked so far.

"Like I said, Hiruzen, I did what I thought would be best to protect this village and all of Konoha's inhabitants. We now have our solution here," he said waving his left arm at the boy, "Naruto."

"You are going to make a three year old the protector of Konoha? That's the Kages job, to keep Konoha safe, not a child!"

Minato shook his head in aspiration; Hiruzen seemed to think that he was going to send a three year old to fight battles that would benefit Konoha. Of course, for a tool to work properly, it needed to be sharpened, and that was what he was going to do. He, the Fourth Hokage, was going to train Naruto to be the best, the best for Konoha.

"No, Hiruzen, I will train Naruto personally in secret until I deem him worthy to protect Konoha out in the field."

"You've lost your mind Minato; the Kyuubi attack has boggled you!" Hiruzen said.

The Kyuubi had attacked 3 years ago, stolen from his wife on the night of their daughter's birth by an unknown man. Minato had to do a lot to ensure the safety of his family and the village. That was what led him to Naruto, he needed another protector of what he held dear. Minato was a very capable ninja, but against a village or two, he was still one man.

Naruto was the front lines; the one that would decimate forces, Naruto would be what Konoha needed. A One-Man Army. Other villages would use Jinchuriki to their advantage; he would use Naruto, a child of unstoppable potential and power that would soon ascend him into his own category of ninja.

"No, Hiruzen, if anything, the night the Kyuubi attacked showed me that what I hold dear could be removed so easily. I… We need this protection and Naruto will offer just that. Don't you and Biwako want to grow old and die together, not have one stripped away from you early with the other succumbs to grief and mourning?" Hiruzen had to admit, that was exactly what he wanted, for him and Biwako to die together, and she had been there for him all through his prime, just like he was always there for her.

"I don't like this Minato," the man said as he walked to the door of the room, "I don't like this at all." He let his worries be heard by Minato and with that, he disappeared home.

He didn't expect Hiruzen to understand, but he'd made his decision now, there was no going back.

"Hello Naruto." The man now described as Minato said. Naruto was still gazing at the man with those even, ice blue eyes devoid of all emotion.

Tilting his head slightly, Naruto also said hello.

"I'm guessing by the fact that you can talk that you eidetic memory works properly?" he asked, and at Naruto's nod, he picked up a pencil and threw it as fast as he could with Raiton Chakra making it even quicker.

Naruto saw the pencil coming in was seemed to be slow motion. The pencil that crackled like lightning barely traveling 3 miles per hour at Naruto. The boy was able to move his head to the side easily as he let the pencil travel by his neck.

Another nod from the man signified another successful experiment, "It seems your Hyper-Reactive pupils are also working. That's good. Very good."

With one last test to check out, Minato pulled out a silver whistle from his Jounin pocket. He licked his lips slightly to allow moisture to them, before taking a deep breath and blowing in to it.

No sound was heard from the whistle, but Naruto grabbed his ears and his body convulsed on the floor in pain.

"Good, it seems that your acute hearing is working as well. All sense experiments were successful."

Naruto stood up shakily, his knees wobbled slightly as he regained his balance. He thought that his ear drums might have just popped from the extreme pressure and high-pitched sound that came from the whistle.

"Naruto, you know your purpose I'm guessing, so you also must know that this job is for you and you alone to bare. You are the sword and shield for Konoha and the people that live here and what you are protecting."

Greeted by another nod, Minato continued.

"I'm going to be training you from tomorrow until I deem you worthy to be a sturdy enough shield to survive the most lethal of blows and sharp enough to deal the most lethal of attacks, do you understand?"

"Yes."

"Good, your training starts tomorrow. Let's get you to your room."

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**Dun Dunn Dunnn Well, there you have it. That's the Prologue and then next Chapter shall be either a time skip with flashbacks or just a gradual process of his training until he is fourteen. You guys can choose.**

**I know the chapter might be a bit shaky; this is my first one after all. But, I hope you all enjoyed.**

**Ja Ne!**


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